Battle of Chickamauga

The Battle of Chickamauga (18-20 September 1863) was a major battle of the American Civil War that was fought between the 60,000-strong Union Army of the Cumberland under William S. Rosecrans and the 65,000-strong Confederate Army of Tennessee under Braxton Bragg in northern Georgia. The battle came at the end of a Union offensive against the Confederate States Army in the Tennessee region, and the Union repulsed Bragg's attacks on 18 September 1863 with heavy losses. The next day, Rosecrans was misinformed that there was a gap in his line, and he redeployed some forces to that sector; in doing so, he created an actual gap, which was exploited by James Longstreet's corps. The Confederate attack on this gap forced Rosecrans and a large portion of his army to retreat, and George Henry Thomas led a fighting retreat, leading to him becoming known as "the Rock of Chickamauga". The end result of the battle was a Union withdrawal to Chattanooga, which was soon under siege by the Confederates. However, Bragg had failed to recover eastern Tennessee or to destroy Rosecrans' army, and his army suffered heavy losses. The Union lost 16,170 troops, including William H. Lytle, while the Confederates lost 18,454 troops, including generals Benjamin Hardin Helm, James Deshler, and Preston Smith; John Bell Hood lost a leg in the battle.